


fraternity

by ThaliaClio



Series: interlude [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Compliant, Communication, Drinking & Talking, Friendship, Gen, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Missing Scene, One Shot, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Sokovia Accords, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, aka fixing rhodes characterization, rhodey loves tony a lot guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 03:23:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14907369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThaliaClio/pseuds/ThaliaClio
Summary: “What happened in Siberia, Tones?” Rhodey asks.--Sometimes the only options left are bad ones. You still have to choose.





	fraternity

**Author's Note:**

> some spoilers for IW but not really.

Rhodey and Tony have never been the type for long emotional talks. They talk about things in fits and starts, little snippets of miserable truth tucked in between easy humor.

It’s been a month. The braces work. Tony’s not in a sling anymore. Ross is… still a problem, to be honest, but less of one.

They’re sitting on the balcony, sipping good scotch and things feel almost okay. Pepper’s coming over later. Her and Tony are doing much better.

Tony had visited Wakanda last week, looking lighter for it. He slept through the night for the first time since Siberia.

Vision looked… not happier, but more peaceful, at ease. He was going on his first solo trip in a few days, and he smiled when he talked about it.

“What happened in Siberia, Tones?” Rhodey asks.

Tony swirls his glass a little and doesn’t look even a little bit surprised.

“Barnes killed my mom -- killed my parents.” Tony still doesn’t look anything more than contemplative. Rhodey’s heart is in his throat.

Tony chuckles a little, takes a sip. Rhodey can’t stop thinking about the night they died, 30 years ago. A phone call at 3am. 

_ “They’re--  _ **_fuck_ ** _ , Rhodey they’re  _ **_dead_ ** _. Th-the car, it crashed -- fucking  _ **_Howard_ ** _ crashed it. My mom’s  _ **_dead_ ** _ , my dad’s  _ **_dead_ ** _ , I don’t -- I don’t --” _

“Well, not Barnes. Not really,” Tony’s calm, contemplative voice snaps him back to the present. 

“The ‘Winter Soldier’ --” Rhodey can hear the air quotes even if Tony doesn’t make them. “HYDRA, whatever. They sent everyone’s favorite brainwashed assassin to get vials of a new-and-improved Cap Clone serum. Got rid of the folks as a bonus or something, I guess.”

He throws back the rest of the drink, setting it down just a hair too hard. The  _ clink _ echoes in the unlikely silence of New York at 3am.

“Rogers knew. For two years.”

Rhodey’s first instinct is a violent one. He wants to fly down to Wakanda and blast Steve in the face. Shove that stupid shield down his throat. Rip off his helmet and drop him in the Siberian tundra to find his own way home.

He swallows it back.

“Is that what the letter was for?” He finally asks.

Tony snorts and goes to grab his glass again, freezing and putting it down when he remembers it’s empty. He casts a glance back to the bar inside, shakes his head and settles back.

“I guess.”

“Kind of a shitty apology,” Rhodey says. 

And Tony just starts laughing. Huge, hysterical belly laughs. He tips over in his chair, and grabs Rhodey’s shoulder, and suddenly Rhodey is laughing too. 

HYDRA brainwashed Barnes. Barnes killed Tony’s parents. Rogers lied for years. Vision shot at Wilson to keep him from getting away. Vision broke Rhodey’s back. Wilson and Barton and Maximoff got arrested. Tony found out the truth. Tony got into a near murderous fist fight with Rogers and Barnes. Rogers broke the declared criminals out of prison. The criminal half of the Avengers fucked off to another continent and were declared fugitives. 

“Fuck,” Tony says, regaining his breath. “I don’t… Everything went to shit so fast. The Accord weren’t -- aren’t -- great. But they’re fixable, probably. With enough leverage. Which we maybe just lost. But Rogers and me -- we --  _ he _ \-- didn’t trust me enough to handle it. Or maybe it wasn’t about me at all. Maybe it was about Barnes.”

Tony looks at Rhodey, gaze speculative. Rhodey has no qualms about meeting his eyes. He already knows, anyway.

Rhodey says it for the two of them.

“I’d burn to world for you if I had to.”

Tony smiles, brief and real. “Luckily we’re both smarter than Rogers. We know how to trick the world instead of burning it.”

Rhodey thinks of three months of searching an empty Afghan desert despite his superiors and has to agree.

“Not everyone is as smart as us, Tone,” he finally says with a smile.

Life goes on.

\--

It’s been five months since Rhodey came back from Berlin with a broken back and Tony came back from Siberia with a broken suit.

“The Accords are going to become everything Rogers said they would,” Tony admits, hunched over his desk and rubbing at his left shoulder. “We had one chance -- _ one _ \-- to fix them. One hand on the wheel. But the people don’t trust us and half of the world’s governments want us in prison and now -- “ he shrugs, helpless. “I can’t stop it. I can only try and mitigate some of the damage.”

Rhodey exhales and looks at his best friend. He thinks about what Tony said about his and Rogers’ first meeting, how Rogers said Tony wasn’t the kind of guy to lay down on the wire. How Tony said he’d just cut the wire. 

Rhodey knew Rogers wasn’t a bad person, not really. But he was -- simple. When Rogers saw problems, he only ever saw two options -- fight it or ignore it. 

Tony, though -- he was  _ complicated _ . 

“What now?” Rhodey asks.

When everyone else only saw two options -- lay down on the wire or walk across it -- Tony would always pick option three.

Tony shrugs.

“We mitigate.”

_ Time to cut the wire _ , Rhodey thinks.

\--

It mostly works, in the end.

They aren’t persecuted. They aren’t government attack dogs, like Rogers feared. But they are -- restricted. There’s more red tape than Rhodey wants or Tony planned for. 

But it’s manageable.

Until aliens invade New York again.

Until Tony goes missing again.

Until the Avengers are needed again.

“It’s good to see you again, Cap,” Rhodey says, and means it. 

He already knows Rogers would burn the world for a friend. He’s hoping Rogers eternal loyalty still extends to Tony. He’ll throw Rogers on the wire and drag Tony across if he has to.

**Author's Note:**

> i love rhodey & tony guys. comments, critiques, and knock knock jokes can all be shared below.


End file.
